Tel Aviv is all set to welcome the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest. The Semi-final Allocation Draw and official Host Insignia Handover Ceremony will be held in Tel Aviv on Monday 28 January at 17:00 CET. The EBU has revealed the semi-final allocation pot distribution.
Host Insignia Handover Ceremony
The Deputy Mayor of Lisbon Mr. Duarte Cordeiro will officially hand over the keys to the Mayor of Tel Aviv Mr. Ron Huldai at the Tel Aviv Musem of Art.
A grand ceremony will be organized for the occasion where Tel Aviv will officially take over from Lisbon as the Eurovision host city.
The ceremony will be carried out in the presence of Mr. Jon Ola Sand (EBU’s executive supervisor for the Eurovision Song Contest) who will give a short speech on behalf of the EBU.
The Host Insignia Handover Ceremony will be followed by the semi-final allocation draws. Both the draws and Host Insignia Ceremony will be hosted by Lucy Ayoub and Assi Azar.
Semi-final allocation draw: Pot allocation
A total 36 countries have been divided into 6 pots and will be distributed equally into each of the 2 semi-finals by a draw. The draw will determine which country will compete in which semi-final.
Pot 1
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Albania
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Croatia
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F.Y.R. Macedonia
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Montenegro
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Serbia
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Slovenia
Pot 2
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Denmark
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Estonia
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Finland
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Iceland
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Norway
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Sweden
Pot 3
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Armenia
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Azerbaijan
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Belarus
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Georgia
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Russia
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Ukraine
Pot 4
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Australia
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Ireland
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Lithuania
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Latvia
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Poland
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Portugal
Pot 5
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Austria
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Belgium
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Czech Republic
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Hungary
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The Netherlands
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Switzerland
Pot 6
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Cyprus
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Greece
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Malta
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Moldova
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Romania
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San Marino
Due to the request of SRF and approved by the Reference Group Switzerland will participate in the second Semi-Final.
Eighteen countries will compete in the first semi-final on 14 May, whilst 18 countries will compete in the second semi-final on 16 May. The draw will be supervised by EBU’s Executive Supervisor Mr. Jon Ola Sand.
First/second half of semi-final allocation draw
During the draw we will also get to know if the participating countries will perform in the first half or second half of their respective semi-final. As in previous years, the exact running order will be determined by the producers of the show.
From each semi-final, ten countries will proceed to the Grand Final on 18 May, joining the six pre-qualified countries.
In total, 26 countries will be represented in the Grand Final.
Big 5 and Israel semi-final voting draw
The Big 5 (Italy, France, UK, Spain and Germany) countries and host country Israel will vote in the semi-finals too.
A draw will also determine which country will vote in which semi-final.
Running order to be determined by late March
A total of 42 countries will compete at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv next May.
The exact running order of the 36 countries competing in the 2 semi-finals on 14 and 16 May will be determined by the producers of the show by late March.
The Big 5 (Spain, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy) and Israel (the host country) are automatically qualified to compete in the Grand Final on 18 May.
The 2018 Eurovision Song Contest is scheduled to be held on 14, 16 and 18 May at the Expo Tel Aviv Convention Centre in Tel Aviv, Israel.
